Day of the Dino
Day of the Dino is the two-part premiere of Power Rangers: Dino Thunder. Synopsis When Mesogog, an evil scientist, unleashes Bio Zords on the city, former Power Ranger Tommy Oliver recruits three high school kids to become Power Rangers and tame the Bio Zords. Plot Part 1 We find Tommy alone on an island, being chased by Tyrannodrones and someone is also after him, telling the Tyrannodrones to "Find him! Whatever it takes!" He outruns them and manages to escape the island by jumping into the ocean before it sinks. Dr. Oliver watches the island simultaneously go up in flames and sink under the ocean. Years later, Dr. Oliver begins working at Reefside High as a high school science teacher. He meets the new principal, Ms. Randall. As he begins class, he gets some grief from the resident busybody, school reporter Cassidy Cornell. Tommy notices a student is missing. That student is Conner McKnight, soccer star, who is busted for truancy by Principal Randall. Randall also busts musician Kira Ford for performing on school grounds without permission. Finally, she rounds up high tech prankster Ethan James, and brings them all to detention with Dr. Oliver. Instead of detention, Tommy takes the kids to the museum. He sends them off to find artifacts. Tommy notices that the museum is now run by Anton Mercer, which seems impossible to him, he is confronted by a T-Rex. In the woods, the kids fall into a sinkhole. Unsure of how to get out, the kids explore the caverns. A car chase later, and the T-Rex is out cold, and revealed to be mechanical. The kids stumble across some kind of high tech underground lair, and take some glowing gems from a stand. As soon as they find their way out, they're attacked by Tyrannodrones. The kids discover that the gems have given them powers, and defeat the creatures using them. Soon, everyone meets back up in the woods, and pretend as if nothing happened. Back at school, a fed up Kira hands over her gem to the guys, only to be abducted by Tyrannodrones. Conner and Ethan run to Dr. Oliver's house for help, only to find a secret entrance to the same lair. Tommy finds the kids snooping and is not pleased. Meanwhile, Mesogog prepares to interrogate Kira. Part 2 Ethan and Conner tell Dr. Oliver what happened with Kira and the Tyrannodrones and they all leave to find her. Kira is holding her own in Mesogog's fortress, as she gets into a tussle with henchwoman Elsa and tries to run away. Unfortunately, cyborg Zeltrax and his crew are not far behind either. While evading Tyrannodrones and Zeltrax, Kira finds a portal, and it sucks her in. They take off in Dr. Oliver's jeep, where Dr. Oliver explains how the Tyrannodrones are his creation: a few years back, Dr. Oliver was working on a way to combine Dino DNA with technology. His partner in this endevour, the rich scientist Dr. Anton Mercer, disappeared soon after and right before Mesogog appeared and attacked their lab and and Tommy thought that all of their research was destroyed. She lands right on top of the search party looking for her. Tommy and the gang fight and drive them off. Mesogog orders that the Bio Zords be unleashed on the city, followed by an aerial strike by Zeltrax. Three mechanical dinosaurs begin their rampage through the city streets. Tommy brings the kids to his lair, and gives them morphers so that they may become Power Rangers and calm the Bio Zords. The Rangers accept their roles as heroes. They head down to the city and morph into the Dino Thunder Rangers. When Tyrannodrones attack, Tommy tells the Rangers to summon their power weapons. Finally, they combine their weapons into the Z-Rex Blaster and hit Zeltrax with a shot. Then they tame the Bio Zords, and combine them into the Thundersaurus Megazord. They use the Megazord to destroy Zeltrax's ship. Mesogog punishes Zeltrax and Elsa for their failure with a psionic brain-blast and warns them as a lesson that he doesn't take defeat lightly. Tommy gives the kids bracelets which can access their morphers and allow them to communicate with each other. He also tells them that their lives will never be the same, but Dr. Oliver knows that a lot has happened, but if they work as a team, no one can beat them. Cast *James Napier as Conner McKnight (Red Dino Thunder Ranger) *Kevin Duhaney as Ethan James (Blue Dino Thunder Ranger) *Emma Lahana as Kira Ford (Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger) *Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver *Latham Gaines as Mesogog *Miriama Smith as Elsa *James Gaylyn as Zeltrax (voice) Notes *None of the Rangers appear morphed in Part I. * Conner uses the phrases "Have a nice trip, see you next fall" and "Time to head for the back of the neck". These are lines used in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. The first was used by Kimberly, and the second refers to the scene when Tommy removes a bone from the back of a skeleton-dinosaur's neck. *The episode's title is probably a reference to the first episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Day of the Dumpster. *Conner says "Dude, the guy's a teacher, not Batman!" and scoffs at the idea that an item in Tommy's study could reveal a hidden cave (which turns out to be true). The Batman's Batcave entrance with a hidden switch in Bruce Wayne's study was most famously shown in the 1966 series. It is significant that Conner delivered that line; James Napier, who plays Conner, is the great-grandson of Alan Napier, who played Alfred in the 1966 series. **Conner's mention of Batman is the second reference to the character; the first was in "Happy Birthday, Zack". *Tommy's address in Reefside, CA is 1992 Valencia Road. Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers began pre-production in 1992, in Valencia, California. *At one point Mesogog mentions Lothor, calling him an idiot. The two will later meet in Thunder Storm. *In some scenes, the buildings have Japanese writing on them; this is footage from the Sentai episode Abare Dinosaur Big Charge!. *During part 1, Tommy is seen wearing a mix of the four Ranger colors he has assumed, a pair of green pants, a black undershirt, a white jacket and a red shirt. * This marks the return of Tommy Oliver (Jason David Frank) since Forever Red. *This marks the first appearance of the Thundersaurus Megazord See Also Category:Dino Thunder episodes Category:Dino Thunder Category:Episode Category:Season Premieres Category:Multi-Part Episode